Intracoronary optical coherence tomography: Clinical and research applications and intravascular imaging software overview

By providing valuable information about the coronary artery wall and lumen, intravascular imaging may aid in optimizing interventional procedure results and thereby could improve clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a light‐based technology with a tissue penetration of approximately 1 to 3 mm and provides near histological resolution. It has emerged as a technological breakthrough in intravascular imaging with multiple clinical and research applications. OCT provides detailed visualization of the vessel following PCI and provides accurate assessment of post‐procedural stent performance including detection of edge dissection, stent struts apposition, tissue prolapse, and healing parameters. Additionally, it can provide accurate characterization of plaque morphology and provides key information to optimize post‐procedural outcomes. This manuscript aims to review the current clinical and research applications of intracoronary OCT and summarize the analytic OCT imaging software packages currently available. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.